Quick Throttle Custom Bike Show

By Mike Cupp

Quick Throttle Magazine was the proud sponsor of the Custom Bike Show on Friday afternoon during Las Vegas BikeFest.It was a beautiful day in Sin City as we approached the new location of BikeFest and began to unload the boxes of swag that our sponsors graciously provided.As we headed through the vendor area towards the main stage, it was evident that the new venue had a much better layout.I believe they took over a full city block, with a massive stage area for bands and daily entertainment, a full row of food vendors and seating areas, plus rows and rows of vendors.The main sponsor was Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys and they provided shopping bags to most of the merchants, and their signage was evident throughout the event.

Our guest celebrity judge for the Custom Bike Show was Rock-N-Roli Szabo (as seen on Counting Cars), and he was a crowd favorite.I stopped counting how many people stopped him and asked for a selfie or an autograph, but he handled it like a pro and took the time to meet and chat with everyone who stopped.I was also impressed by how knowledgeable he is about custom bikes, especially show bikes.As we walked through the bike show area, we would stop and chat about different aspects of the bike; what the builders missed and what they really got right.

Once I had the swag delivered, secured the “talent” and met with the event promoters to go over the day’s schedule, it was time for lunch.We ordered some BBQ with a great aroma, and as we were walking away with it, I get a phone call from local builder Ricky Bongos, asking if the bike show is still open..The entry window had closed, but we were able to pull a few strings and got two of his bikes into the show before the judging had begun.

The other thing that I love about BikeFest is its central location in the Southwest, which allows many of our Quick Throttle journalists to meet up at the same event.We had myself, Perry & Traci Nelson, Shannon “Dazzlin” Venturo, Dana Lee “Irish Flame” Freund and Sasha Johnson all at the same event. I’m pretty sure nobody got arrested, so that’s always a good thing.

The next order of business was the selection of Quick Throttle Editor’s Choice Trophy winner.The trophy was designed and built by our Tinker Talk columnist, Justin James.He used parts from his collection to come up with a one-of-a-kind trophy that was built-not-bought.The lettering was provided by Rufus Walker, of Pinstriping by Rufus.The bikes in the show were all amazing and we really could have chosen several bikes as favorites, but we had to narrow it down to one.Mike Rabideau’s 1981 Harley Shovelhead had a classic old-school look that was ultimately our favorite.

Quick Throttle would like to thank the organizers and staff of Las Vegas BikeFest for putting on a fantastic event, Rock-N-Roli Szabo for appearing as a guest judge, Caesars Entertainment for our room at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, and of course our swag bag sponsors: